Pain, Pain, Go Away
by WritelkeUmeanit
Summary: Aftermath of S2 E16. The many emotions the Charming family are now forced to face. (Emma/Henry, Emma/Snow, David/Snow. Three-shot)
1. It Happened

**Pain, Pain, Go Away**

It took Emma not a second to realize where she was. She turned in a circle and spotted the toll bridge. Bingo. She took off running.

"Hey, wait up!" Neal called from behind.

Emma didn't answer, didn't slow her pace. No time. She ran quickly, forcing her body to move faster than it ever has. She took a shortcut that would lead to the heart of town. When Gold's was in sight, she saw Ruby running down the block.

"Ruby!"

The waitress stopped. She caught up with Emma. "I turned around for a minute and he was gone."

That was all Emma needed. She hurried the half a block to Gold's with Neal close behind. She ran through the door, not caring about the danger that may lie ahead.

Emma darted to the back room to find Gold standing over Regina, a large dagger in his hand and his wound gone. Regina was holding her mother who was… dead? Could that be true? Emma wasn't sure. Then she looked to Snow and David. Her mother looked mortified. Heart broken. Scared.

"You," Regina growled.

She looked furious, her vicious stare on Snow. Then she raised her hand, a fireball growing in her palm. Emma's eyes widend.

"Mom!"

Everyone turned to Henry's voice. Thudding footsteps were rushing towards them. While holding her mother tight, Regina vanished, the fireball dissipating to a puff of smoke.

"Mom," Henry said in relief while rushing towards Emma and throwing his arms around her middle.

Emma released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She hugged her son tight and put a kiss to the top of his head. "You were supposed to stay with Ruby," she argued weakly, her voice just above a whisper.

"I know, I'm sorry."

Emma nodded in understanding and said, "you've gotta stop sneaking off, kid. You're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days."

"I have to go," Snow said out of nowhere before rushing from the room.

"Mar-"

"I wouldn't," Gold interrupted David. "She won't be the same, not after today," he warned.

David wanted to argue. But he couldn't… because he knew it to be true.

"What happened?" Neal asked.

"She killed Cora," David muttered.

"Cora's pure evil," Emma started. "It came down to them or us…she did what she had to do."

David shook his head. "Snow White is pure good… now she won't see herself as that anymore."

"She's a hero. She saved us."

"I'm afraid that isn't really the case, Henry. At least, not in her eyes… I need a walk. I'll meet you at the apartment."

Emma nodded.

"Can we go home?" Henry asked.

"Yeah."

"There a place I can crash around here?" Neal asked.

"I do have a house, Baelfire," Gold said gently.

Neal nodded a bit. "I do better solo."

"Down the road, Granny's Bed & Breakfast."

"Thanks. I'll catch up with you guys later," Neal said, his eyes on Henry and Emma, before leaving.

Emma looked up in time to find a fleeting frown cross Gold's face.

XOX

On the walk back the apartment, Henry didn't let go of Emma's hand, not for a second. She couldn't help a smile.

"This mean you don't hate me anymore?"

"I never hated you," Henry argued.

"You were pretty mad."

Henry nodded. "I never thought you would lie to me," he murmured, his stare on the sidewalk.

Emma sighed. "I did a crappy thing, Henry… I'm sorry I kept your father from you, I shouldn't have-"

"I know," Henry interrupted. "I'm just… glad you're okay."

A small smile took Emma's face. "You were worried about me, huh?"

Henry nodded.

"That sparked your forgiveness?"

"I don't want to lose my mom like Regina did… like I lost her."

Emma stopped. She met Henry's eyes and said, "you will never lose me," her voice firm.

Henry held his pinky out. With a broad smile, Emma hooked her finger around his smaller one, sealing deals the way they always did.

"Pinky swear."

"Pinky swear," Emma agreed.

With that, Henry began walking, but Emma stopped him.

"If I can, Henry, I'll bring Regina back."

"She's evil," the boy argued. "She tried to kill you all… she tried to be good, but she can't," he said, his voice sad.

"I'll do what I can," Emma promised firmly.

"Okay," Henry murmured.

EmEmma took his hand, and together they went home.

_TBC_

**PART TWO, COMING UP SOON**- Snow White is lost, confused, scared and depressed. David can't seem to get through to her. Nothing he says or does helps… but there's someone else who might be able to make things better.

Review before you go? Please and thanks!

P.S, New Chapter for RTH is almost finished! Also, look out for the conclusion to W&D along with another installment of SM!

Thanks for reading, loves!


	2. Its Still Happening

**Pain, Pain, Go Away**

**Chapter Two: It's Still Happening**

Mary Margaret wouldn't come out of her room. She wouldn't talk. After what happened the day before, David had been trying everything and anything to make her feel better. She spent the previous night tossing and turning, barely getting a wink of sleep and when she did manage to doze off, she'd wake in a fit of tears. David did all he could to try and comfort her, but nothing seemed to help. When dinnertime came, she wouldn't come out to eat. She wouldn't take a bite from the tray of food David brought her.

Emma and David tried to keep a brave face for Henry but the eleven year old could see through the façade.

"Snow White was good… she never hurt anyone," Henry murmured sadly.

Emma's lips turned to a frown while she put her hand to his back, rubbing small circles as he picked at the fries on his plate.

"She's still Snow White, Henry," David said softly while pulling a to-go cup of coffee from Granny's and giving it to Emma. "That won't change."

"When Regina started doing bad things and killing innocent people, her heart turned black… that's what the book says."

Sensing the worry in his voice, David put his forearms on the counter and lowered himself to Henry's level. "But that's the difference. Cora wasn't innocent."

"It doesn't matter," Henry argued. "Once you start to do bad things, it changes you."

"She didn't do a bad thing, Henry," Emma countered gently.

"It was a bad thing… she was protecting us… but it's still a bad thing."

"Henry-"

"She'll fight back," he interrupted hastily. "She'll come for me. She'll want to kill Mary Margaret."

"That will never happen," Emma said firmly.

"You'll die trying to protect me."

"Henry, we won't let anything happen to you," David said.

"What about you? What about what happens to you?!" he challenged. "She has magic. She can kill you. She can kill you and Mary Margaret and-"

"No," Emma interrupted. "I have magic, Henry. I can fight back."

Henry shook his head while standing from his seat. "So that's how it's gonna be?" he demanded angrily while looking from his mom to David. "You'll always be fighting until enough of you die that it has to stop?"

"No one is going to die," David argued.

"You say that now but look what happened to Cora! Look what magic did to her! … Look at what it did to Regina. Look at what it did to Mary Margaret."

With a deep frown, Emma stood from her seat as David walked around the counter.

"Magic was supposed to make everything better but look at what it's doing. It's tearing my family apart. It won't stop until we're all dead."

"Henry-"

With water brewing in his eyes, the boy backed away to the door, grapping his backpack before running from the apartment.

Emma hurried after him, but David stopped her as she reached the door.

"I'll go," he said while grabbing his jacket. "Maybe you can talk to Mary Margaret? Try and make her feel better… or at least get her to eat something," he finished through a sigh.

Emma nodded.

"I'll bring him back," David promised.

_TBC_

**Super short but stay tuned for the finale later today! **

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**Hope you enjoyed! Please review before you go! **


	3. Everything Will Be Okay

**Pain, Pain, Go Away**

**Chapter 3: Everything Will Be Okay**

With David gone, Emma turned to Mary Margaret's bedroom. She walked carefully across the apartment until she reached the doorway. Mary was curled underneath the covers, her stare ahead.

Go in? Sit down? No that's too forward, too pushy. Small talk? Mary Margaret wouldn't fall for that.

While leaning against the doorframe, Emma bit her lip as she tried to come up with something to say… well, no, not something. The right thing.

"You don't have to stand there. I'm not going to bite."

With her face that of a deer caught in headlights, Emma said, "Oh, no, I wasn't-"

"Is Henry afraid of me now?"

"No, never," Emma denied firmly.

Mary Margaret looked to Emma. Their eyes met. The sadness, the pain, the regret, it was written across Mary Margaret's face clear as a sunny day.

"David wants you to talk to me."

Emma sighed while walking further into the room. "We want to help you, we just… don't know how."

Mary Margaret planted her hands on the mattress to push her body up. Emma took the cue to walk around the bed and sit on the vacant side. Silence filled the room as Mary Margaret bent her legs to her chest, putting her arms around her legs and her chin to her knees.

"I know you're upset," Emma started a moment later. "And I know nothing I can say will make things better but, Mary Margaret… you saved us."

"At the cost of a life."

"Would you rather it have been Henry?" Emma challenged. "He can't defend himself against her. If she got away, it wouldn't take longer than a second for her to kill him."

"I'd die before anything happens to my grandson."

Emma's lips turned to a small smile. "It would have been someone. At least it was the bad guy."

"There was another way… but Gold got to my head."

Emma's brows knit in curiosity.

"I could have just taken her heart, then I would have been able to control her. I could have kept her from killing anyone, but then he would have died and he's Henry's grandfather and I couldn't do that to him, I couldn't kill his grandfather," Mary Margaret explained as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You did it for Henry," Emma realized.

She nodded a bit.

"You sacrificed one life for another," Emma realized in shock.

"I'm a horrible person," Mary Margaret cried.

"No, "Emma denied aggressively.

"I need to go," Mary Margaret said suddenly while getting to her feet.

"Wait, what?"

"Regina wants my heart. She can have it."

Emma followed her mother from the room to find her reaching for her coat but Emma rushed to take the jacket from her grasp before she could put it on.

"Are you crazy?" Emma challenged.

"This needs to stop. Please. Let me go," Mary Margaret begged desperately.

"So you keep Henry's grandfather alive but you'll take away his grandmother?"

"It's the only fair thing. I need to pay for what I've done… the pain is too much, Emma, Please."

"Then what about me?" Emma argued angrily. "28 years I have no family, no one who gave a crap about me and finally we find each other and you want to leave me again? Do you have any idea what that'll do to me?! Do you know how much that will hurt?!"

Mary Margaret's eyes widened in surprise at the passion in Emma's voice.

"I need you, goddamnit! I know I'm guarded. I'm not easy to know… but you're my mother… from the moment I came here we had a connection… you stopped me from leaving. Now I'm doing the same for you… you are not dying," she finished firmly.

With a fresh batch of tears falling from Mary Margaret's eyes, she took a few steps to get to Emma. She wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her close.

"I'm sorry," Mary Margaret apologized. "I won't leave you. Not now, not ever."

With her arms tight around her mother, Emma said, "you have to know this already, but I love you."

A watery smile took Mary Margaret's face. "I love you too."

"We'll get through this," Emma promised. "I know it hurts like a bitch, but everything will be okay."

"That's what your father's been telling me."

Emma pulled away and said, "Well, he's right."

Mary Margaret nodded. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything."

"You stayed in Storybrooke."

"The best decision I've ever made."

_The End_

**Thoughts before you go? **


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